ABSTRACT
The history of coastal area management has not yet been exhaustively written but all authors who have dealt with this subject agree that it is short and well de veloped. Mitchell [1982, 265] states that “some farsighted observers had recom mended comprehensive state coastal conservation over a quarter of a century earlier, but the first significant modern state legislative action directed at an ex plicit coastal management problem was undertaken in 1959. In that year Texas passed an open beaches law designed to confirm public ownership of, and unim peded access to, beaches”. As far as the evolution of CAM is concerned, Mitchell [1982, 265-272] and Vallejo [1988, 205-206] sketch similar models. Mitchell identifies two phases: (i) the emergence of modern coastal zone man agement policy (1960-72); (ii) the post-1972 period, which has been influenced by the US CZMA (1972). Vallejo distinguishes: (i) the 1970s, during which “there was general recognition of the importance of marine resources for the
economic growth of the states, an increase in scientific research, and for a sus tained negotiation effort at the international lever’; (ii) the 1980s, during which “there has been an incipient response from governments to the opportunities available, as well as a further recognition of the responsibilities involved in the newly acquired rights over Exclusive Economic Zones” (Figure 7.1).
